Enterprise Risk Specialist

Irish Life; Potters Bar; On-site; GBP 45,000 - 65,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading UK financial services firm is seeking an Enterprise Risk Specialist to support risk oversight and management. The role involves coordinating risk activities, providing training, and engaging with senior management. The ideal candidate has experience in enterprise risks within financial services and strong communication skills. Competitive salary and benefits are offered, along with opportunities for personal and professional development.

Benefits

Generous pension scheme

Private medical insurance

Professional development opportunities

Qualifications

• Experience in enterprise and operational risks monitoring and reporting.
• Proven ability to engage with senior management.
• Demonstrated delivery of accurate complex reporting.

Responsibilities

• Support risk identification, measurement, management, and reporting.
• Ensure integrity with the Internal Control Policy.
• Champion the three lines of defence model for risk management.

Skills

Experience in the life insurance industry

Excellent communication skills

Strong knowledge of operational risk modelling

Strong interpersonal skills

Self-motivated and organised

Education

Relevant risk management qualification

Job description

Location

Hertfordshire

Company overview

Canada Life UK looks after the retirement, investment and protection needs of individuals, families and companies. We help to build better futures for our customers, our intermediaries and our employees by operating as a modern, agile and welcoming organisation.

Part of our parent company Great-West Lifeco, Canada Life UK has operated in the United Kingdom since 1903. We have hundreds of respected and supported employees committed to doing the right thing for our customers and colleagues.

Canada Life UK is transforming to create a more customer‑focused business by providing our customers with expertise on financial and tax planning, offering home finance and annuities propositions, and providing collective fund solutions to third party customers.

Job Summary

Part of Canada Life’s 2nd Line of Defence, the Enterprise Risk Management Team support the Chief Risk Officer and Head of Enterprise Risk Management in providing Enterprise Risk expertise, challenge, oversight, training and guidance to the business and shared service units within the UK Group.

Working in liaison with other elements of the 2nd & 3rd Lines of Defence to ensure a co‑ordinated approach, the Team operates in an internal consultancy style to support robust, risk‑based decision making by senior management, and ultimately the Boards, within the UK Group.

The Enterprise Risk Specialist supports the Head of Enterprise Risk Management to deliver the Team’s responsibilities. Core activities that this role supports include delivery and maintenance of the Enterprise Risk Management Framework – which includes oversight of Risk Culture (e.g., risk behaviours self‑assessments, risk training and communication), Risk Appetite Framework (e.g., adjustments to risk appetite, updates to the risk taxonomy, and overall reviews of the risk strategy), Risk Governance (e.g., championing the 3LoD model), Risk Infrastructure & Policies (e.g., GRC and operating policy compliance), and Risk Processes (ad‑hoc reviews and deep dives on Risk Events, Root Cause Analysis, Issues Management, KRIs, Risk Function Indicators, RCSAs, Operational Risk Scenarios, Emerging Risks and Risk Reporting).

This role includes provision of risk training to the business to enable the embedding of the Enterprise Risk Management Framework, 1st Line ownership of risk and 2nd Line execution of oversight, challenge and guidance.

What will you be doing

1. Support the coordination and evolution of risk identification, measurement, management, monitoring and reporting activities across the UK Division, including:

   • Co‑ordinating, reviewing and challenging the RCSAs submitted from all business units, on at least a quarterly basis. Ensure that material challenges are recorded and evidenced.

   • Reviewing and assessing the content of the GRC and challenging the 1st Line Business Units and 2nd Line colleagues on risk event descriptions, root cause analysis, overdue action plans, incomplete RCSAs, risk reviews and other assessments tracked in GRC.

   • Ensuring that emerging risks are captured by the 1st Line within the RCSA process and contribute to UK Group, Regional and LifeCo emerging risk workstreams.

   • Communicating 2nd Line reporting requirements, and any changes to the requirements, on a regular basis to Business Partners and management, Boards and other key stakeholders.

2. Supporting operational risk reporting across the UK Division, including:

   • Collation and reporting of operational risks across the UK Division, including appropriate analysis and commentary, linking into wider reporting, such as the quarterly CRO report.

   • Ensuring that 1st Line reporting maintains integrity with, and fully supports the requirements of, the Internal Control Policy.

   • Ensuring appropriate linkage between operational limits and operational capital requirements.

   • Ensuring that all required Regional (e.g., CLG) and Group (e.g., LifeCo) reporting requirements are met, including facilitating any processes to aggregate UK reporting to the required Regional/Group level.

3. Supporting risk oversight by 2nd Line over UK Divisional activity, including:

   • Participating in the delivery of the annual assurance review plan for the Risk & Compliance Function.

   • Support the maintenance and evolution of tools and processes that underpin the business’s assurance of compliance with, and attestation to, the suite of operating policies and supporting standards and guidelines. This includes oversight and challenge of policy owners’ effective communication of their requirements for policy compliance.

   • Ensuring that business areas commit to actions and implement these in a timely fashion to address control deficiencies, particularly following a loss or near‑miss event.

   • Coordinating, driving and reviewing inputs to the operational risk capital assessment process, including challenging 1st Line scenarios and resultant modelling outputs. Ensuring that changes to operational risk scenarios are reviewed and agreed to by 1st Line management.

   • Reviewing and contributing to the enterprise and operational risk components of the ORSA, including ORSA risk assessments, thereby supporting the annual process.

   • Supporting any additional stress and scenario testing exercises as required, e.g., Reverse Street Testing, Regional / LifeCo scenarios.

4. Risk Advisory

   • Support the Head of Enterprise Risk Management in ensuring the success of the wider Risk & Compliance Function, engaging with the full range of stakeholders where appropriate, and providing advice to the business on enterprise, operational and strategic risk matters.

5. Risk Oversight and Assurance

   • Responsible for the process and activities in relation to providing oversight and assurance of any initiatives and/or special projects being carried out across CLUK and outsourced service providers.

6. Supporting Risk & Compliance Function Colleagues

   • Provide enterprise, operational and strategic risk support to other members of the Risk & Compliance Function.

7. 3LoD Champion

   • Championing the three lines of defence model for risk management across CLUK to help support the implementation, embedding and maintenance of all aspects of an effective, pragmatic and appropriate enterprise risk management framework.

Experience Required for the position

• Experience in the life insurance industry preferred, though would consider wider financial services sector experience
• Experience in enterprise and operational risks and the various approaches to monitor, model and report on operational risks
• Experience of 2nd Line of Defence risk oversight activities
• Excellent communication skills, delivering clear and articulate written and verbal messages in complex environments, tailored for all management levels. Strong attention to detail.
• Proven experience engaging with senior management to achieve desired outcomes.
• Strong knowledge of operational risk modelling and reporting within the broader enterprise risk management framework, aligned with regulatory requirements such as Solvency II.
• Strong interpersonal and networking skills, with the ability to build and maintain diverse cross-border relationships with multiple stakeholders.
• Demonstrated ability to deliver complex reporting requirements accurately and on time under tight deadlines
• Self‑motivated, highly organised, pragmatic, and capable of working independently
• Relevant risk management qualification (desirable)

Benefits of working at Canada Life

We believe in recognising and rewarding our people, so we offer a competitive salary and benefits package that’s regularly reviewed. As a Canada Life UK colleague, you’ll receive a competitive salary and comprehensive reward package including a generous pension and bonus scheme, along with, income protection, private medical insurance and life assurance. We have a fantastic number of other benefits and support services as well as regular personal and professional development.

How we work at Canada Life

Our culture is unique and incredibly important to us. We care about doing the right thing for our people, customers and community and helping others to build better futures. Our blueprint behaviours shape and influence how we work, and are central to the relationships we have with others. Every day we are encouraged to be more curious, own the outcome, face into things together and find a way forward.

We want colleagues to have rewarding careers with us so we invest in the development of our people, technology and workplaces. That’s why we offer a range of training, flexible working and opportunities to grow and develop.

Diversity and inclusion

Building an inclusive workplace with a diverse workforce where everyone can feel they belong and achieve their potential regardless of gender, ethnicity or any other characteristic is a key commitment for us. We are proud of the progress we’re making in DEI, and we continue for it to be a significant focus.

“At Canada Life we believe in the power of great people from different backgrounds, experiences and perspectives coming together to build better futures. Emerging talent is crucial to our growth and creating an environment that continues to inspire us all.” Nick Harding, Chief People Officer, Canada Life UK

We appreciate that everyone has different work and life responsibilities. We’re happy to discuss flexible working arrangements, including part time, for any of our roles should this be a requirement for you.